Keeping Up With Eye Care: 7 Health Problems Eye Exams Can Detect

A lot of people assume that you only need to see an eye doctor if you wear glasses or contact lenses. But if you still have eyes, then eye care is not optional.

A yearly eye exam is extremely important, and not just for preserving your eyesight. The fact is that these eye exams can detect loads of serious health problems that have little to do with eyesight.

For instance, eye doctors are often the first to spot signs of high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid disease, and cancer in their patients. That’s because the condition of your eyes can reveal early symptoms of these conditions before other, more noticeable symptoms appear. In other words, scheduling yearly eye exams can save your life.

To illustrate this point, we’ve listed 7 serious health problems that eye exams can detect. Read on to learn what you need to know.
 

1. High Blood Pressure

Sometimes, high blood pressure can cause symptoms that appear visibly in the blood vessels of your eyes. Specifically, a close inspection may reveal that these vessels are bleeding excessively or that they look abnormally kinked. In this instance, the doctor can check your blood pressure and refer you to a general physician for treatment if necessary.
 

2. High Cholesterol

An eye doctor can detect an excess of cholesterol deposits in a patient’s eyes. This indicates that the patient’s cholesterol levels are dangerously high. Another sign is a blue or yellow ring surrounding the cornea.

Spotting these signs early enough can allow treatment before the condition becomes life-threatening.
 

3. Diabetes

Yellow fluid/blood leaking from blood vessels in your eye may indicate diabetes. This symptom may appear before any symptoms that are noticeable to the patient.
 

4. Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis causes the patient’s body to attack healthy tissue, resulting in widespread inflammation and pain. This commonly affects the patient’s eyes the same way. An eye exam will make it clear that rheumatoid arthritis is the cause.
 

5. Multiple Sclerosis

Vision problems can often result from the inflammation of the optic nerve, which could be a sign of multiple sclerosis. However, the inflammation doesn’t always cause visual symptoms. But it will still be noticed during an eye exam.
 

6. Hyperthyroidism

Retracting eyelids and protruding eyeballs are obvious signs of hyperthyroidism. This condition can be fatal when it’s not carefully regulated by a physician. See your general physician right away if your optometrist spots these symptoms.
 

7. Cancers/Tumors

Lastly, tissue, skin, and blood cancers leave many different signs that your eye doctor can detect during an eye exam. And brain tumors, cancerous or not, can put pressure on the eyes, which is also noticeable to the optometrist.
 

Prevent These Problems With Proper Eye Care

Don’t let these problems happen to you by neglecting proper eye care. If you haven’t had your eyes examined this year, see your local eye doctor right away.

Do you need an eye exam, a refill of contact lenses, or other eye care services? Click the link at the top of this page to schedule an appointment for the services you need. Or, if you need more information first, contact us here.